Oldest bald eagle in the US was 38 years old
Bald eagles, the symbol of the United States, have a lifespan between 15 and 25 years out in their natural wild habitat.
However, the bald eagle that was recently found dead on a roadside in Henrietta is believed to have been 38 years old, based on the metal band that was wrapped around the majestic bird.
This means that the unfortunate bird was the oldest bald eagle in the United States, some bird experts believe.
According to an official statement released by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the bird found dead in Henrietta was apparently hit and killed by a moving car.
The department’s officials said that the bird was the oldest bald eagle in the US, older by five years than any other eagles banded in the country.
The birds are being banded and tracked by the US Geological Survey throughout the nation.
The experts said that the oldest bald eagle in the US was only a few months old when the researchers put the band around its leg with the numbers 03142.
The band was attached on August 5, 1977 in Seneca Falls, Seneca County.
The bald eagle was raised and released by its caretakers at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.
Marc Gerstman, executive deputy commissioner at DEC, stated that this bald eagle is “a testament to the diligent conservation and restoration work done under New York’s Bald Eagle Restoration Program.”
Gerstman added that it’s remarkable that this bald eagle had lived for so long and had a good life in the state of New York, and returned to its nest site whenever it needed to breed.
Tom Roster, the manager of Alabama’s Iroiquois National Wildlife Refuge, said there are four pairs of bald eagles nesting in the area. Two of them are on federal land and the other two pairs are on adjacent state property.
Roster said that the presence of these majestic birds of prey increases that number of visitors at the refuge.
In 1963, there were only 487 pairs of bald eagles in the Unites States, but because of loss of habitat, hunting, and DDT pesticides, the species almost went extinct.
Image Source: naturedocumentaries
